Food and health claims (FSANZ)
Australian Business & ComplianceAlso: Nutrition and health claims · FSANZ claims
Quick definition
Food and health claims are governed by the Food Standards Code, administered by Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Nutrition content claims like low fat must meet set criteria, health claims linking a food to a health benefit must rest on an approved or substantiated relationship, and food cannot make therapeutic claims to treat or cure. The rules constrain a lot of food marketing language.
How it varies across Australia
Food and beverage brands consistently overreach on health language because it sells. The ones that grow cleanly in Australia learn the difference between a permitted nutrition content claim, a regulated health claim and a forbidden therapeutic claim, and write to the line rather than across it.
See how food and beverage marketing varies across Australian industries →What it actually means
Food and health claims are regulated by the Food Standards Code, which Food Standards Australia New Zealand administers. The code sorts claims into tiers, and the tier decides what you have to do to make the claim.
Nutrition content claims describe what is in the food, low fat, good source of fibre, no added sugar. These are allowed but only when the food meets the specific criteria set for that claim, so you cannot call something low fat unless it actually clears the threshold.
Health claims link a food or nutrient to a health effect. General-level health claims, like calcium for healthy bones, must be based on a pre-approved relationship or one the company has self-substantiated through a defined process. High-level health claims, which reference a serious disease or biomarker, require an approved relationship and stricter conditions.
Then there is a hard line. Food cannot make therapeutic claims. Saying a food treats, cures or prevents a disease pushes it into therapeutic goods territory and breaches the rules.
For marketers the effect is that a lot of intuitive health language is regulated or off limits. The persuasive shorthand, that a product is healthy or good for you in a medical sense, is exactly where the code bites, so claims need to be matched to the right tier and substantiated before they go on a pack or into an ad.
On a food label, the difference between low fat, heart healthy and cures anything is three different legal worlds.
How it shows up
Risk shows up in any health or nutrition language on packs, ads and websites: content claims the food may not qualify for, health claims without an approved or substantiated basis, and therapeutic claims that food cannot make at all. The check is to classify every claim into its tier and confirm the food and the evidence support it before publishing.
The Australian context
The food and health claims rules come from the joint Australia and New Zealand Food Standards Code, so they apply across both markets but differ from food labelling regimes elsewhere. They interact with Australian Consumer Law on misleading conduct and with the therapeutic goods rules at the boundary where food claims stray into medical territory. Imported food marketing frequently overstates health benefits in ways the Australian code does not permit.
Where people get this wrong
Related terms
Common questions
What are food and health claims?
Claims on food about nutrition or health, regulated by the Food Standards Code. They split into nutrition content claims, like low fat, and health claims that link a food to a health benefit. Food cannot make therapeutic claims to treat or cure disease.
Can I call my product low fat or high in protein?
Only if it meets the specific criteria for that claim under the code. Nutrition content claims have defined thresholds, so the food has to actually qualify before you can use the term on a label or in advertising.
What is the difference between a health claim and a therapeutic claim?
A health claim links a food to a health effect and must rest on an approved or substantiated relationship. A therapeutic claim says a product treats, cures or prevents disease, which food cannot do. Crossing that line breaches the rules and enters therapeutic goods territory.
Do these rules apply to imported food brands?
Yes. Any food marketed in Australia must meet the Food Standards Code, and imported marketing often overstates health benefits in ways the Australian code does not allow. Health and nutrition claims need a local check before launch.
About New Rebellion
New Rebellion is a marketing intelligence consultancy. We build tools, score Australian businesses on how their marketing actually performs, and publish Debrief every day. This dictionary is part of how we work in the open.
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